Page 87 of Make Me A Sinner
“Is he... still with us?” Whiro asks, glancing at Set, and judging by the tone of his voice, he’s unsure of what answer he might receive.
“Y… yes,” I murmur, my face buried against Set’s side, ready to stay there as long as it takes.
I hear Draco gathering a few books and leaving the room, but I don’t move, and judging by the steps, I think Whiro must’ve left too, a while ago.
Evening creeps in. I’m so tired I can barely keep my eyes open, but I refuse to close them anyway. Too afraid I’ll wake up and he’ll be gone. I know Death said he won’t take him. But I also know gods are tricky, I don’t want to test if that runs in the family.
I don’t know how it happens, but I fall asleep anyway. I’m even dreaming of us. Nothing decent, of course. And I wouldn’t want it any other way. But beyond everything—beyond the fire burning within him, the long hours where a god worships me, sending pleasure through my body over and over again, beyond the way he makes me feel special and protected—what I love most is when he holds me. When all we have is madness around us, and we can still manage to find peace in an embrace. The way he pulls me to his chest, even that damn leg occasionally throws over me pressing me into the mattress—that’s the part I love most. When it’s just us.
So, I stay in that dream, my head resting on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and the soft play of his fingers in my hair. Over and over again. It feels so real. So real that I’m starting to think it’s not a dream anymore. My eyes snap open, and the fingers are still there—still playing in my hair.
“Set…. Set you’re awake.”
forty-three
-Set-
What the fuck is happening to me?
That’s all I’ve been able to think about for the past hour, because that’s exactly how long it took for me to open my fucking eyes. My chest hurts like hell. Like it’s about to explode the very next second, and every breath is a torment I can barely stand. I don’t remember ever feeling this kind of pain. Still, I do remember how this happened—someone shot me. It wasn’t the first time that happened, but it’s the first time I haven’t been able to recover. I still can’t. Yet as much as it hurts, I can’t help but feel at peace. I woke up with Serena in my arms. That pretty much did it for me. That’s all I need—for her to be safe, next to me.
Sure, I certainly don’t need a bullet hole in my chest, but it’s a hell of a lot easier to bear with her here. Wherever the fuckhereis.
The room’s pitch-black, except for a stray silver of moonlight shining across her face.
Ya’amar—my moon. I smile as I tuck away a wandering strand of hair from her face. Then I close my eyes again and let my finger drift through her hair, gently enough, so I won’t wake her. She’s sleeping so soundly that I’m suspecting she’s been through some shit lately. Especially since I can see an ancient occult book on the nightstand next to me, and what I’m pretty sure is a palm tree shadow outside. It’s too dark in the room to make out much else, but this has to be Draco’s place in L.A. Which also means things were bad enough for Whiro to bring me here.
I want to ask questions. I’m just not ready—at least, not yet. I’m almost drifting back to sleep when I feel Serena waking up. “Set…Set you’re awake.”
“You could say that,” I manage to speak, though the words barely come out. I never imagined speaking could come with such difficulty. But then again, I never imagined recovering from a bullet wound be this fucking hard.
She raises her head, and moonlight catches her face. She’s so fucking beautiful. And so fucking mine. Because I’ll admit, I had my doubts, no matter what promises she made, no matter how strong our bond was. I did some things in the past that hurt her—making her a killer being one of them. So the fear that she’d leave again—if given the chance—was still there.
But she just had the greatest chance of her life to run as far away as she could. Yet chose not to. “You stayed,” I say, brushing away that same stubborn strand of hair from her face.
“Of course I stayed,” she murmurs, pushing herself up in the bed and leaning in for a kiss.
“You know this totally reminds me of a scene from that cartoon… what’s it called?” Whiro’s voice cuts through the darkness. “Oh yeah, Beauty and the Beast. You know, when the beast’s half-dead, and the girl swoops in to kiss him.”
Serena turns to look at him. “The Beast says,‘You came back.’”
“Details,” Whiro mutters, and I still can’t even see him.
But I can definitely kick him out. “Whiro, get the fuck outnow,” I growl, even though we both know it holds no real ground at this point. It’s just our way of communicating. Call it brotherly love.
Now it’s time for a different kind of love. “Did he just say she kisses the Beast?”
“She sure does,” Serena murmurs as her lips come crashing against mine. And it hurts like fucking hell—the jolt in my chest nearly knocks the breath out of me. I don’t tell her that. I want her to do it ten more times if it means feeling her mouth on mine.
For a second there, I thought I wouldn’t get to live through this moment. I’ll be fucking dead before I let her go again. I can taste the salt of her tears as my tongue pulses against hers, and as much as I hate that she’s crying, I can’t help but want her tears. They show me how much she feels for me, and how scared she was to lose me.
But enough is enough. “Stop crying, or you’ll force me to try adifferentapproach. And I’m not sure I won’t die in the process.”
“You’re not doing anything that gets you close to dying again. You had me all panicked,” she says with a soft smile, gently easing herself off me. “Are you in pain?” She asks with real concern in her eyes.
“I’ve been better, but the pain just lets me know I’m still alive,” I mutter, trying to sit up against the pillow. “Fuck. Very much alive, from the feel of it.” My hand races to my chest, and I’m already exhausted from the effort.
“You shouldn’t move so much. I’ll go get Draco,” Serena offers, but I want her right here, next to me.
